News

In 2014 TBI Suriname started working with the Association of Saamaka Authorities and with 24 Saamaka communities, comprising about 12,000 inhabitants, in the Upper Suriname River area. The goal was to support a land-use planning project that aimed to give the local community a stronger voice in decision-making with regard to spatial planning. From 2014 to 2016, TBI Suriname worked with community members, using participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) to assess the state of ecosystem services and discussing visions for future development of the area.

After eight years and the conversion of more than 200 illegal chainsaw millers into artisanal millers Ghana’s Chainsaw Milling Project came to an end in 2016. The project found alternatives to chainsaw milling through a multi-stakeholder dialogue. The dialogue assessed the reasons behind illegal logging and piloted the artisanal milling concept as an alternative to chainsaw milling and as the solution to providing legal wood to the country’s domestic market.

Are we on the right track? September 14, 2017 - Smallholders and communities own, use and manage a significant share of the world’s agricultural lands and forests. Their livelihoods largely depend on the resources given by the land, in terms of food security and nutrition, energy supply, income and employment. However, smallholders’ rights to access, control and use land are often insecure, unclear or not respected. Yet, there is a growing group of financial institutions and businesses that are proactively investing to achieve positive impacts on local communities and looking for alternative tenure and business models. In this annual seminar – the 10th in this series - we will share the latest knowledge, experiences and insights with regard to such innovative tenure and business models.